Pakistan, US yet to remove differences over nuclear arsel

Washington, March 2: Officials of the US and Pakistani are still deliberating on the contents of a joint statement that was supposed to be issued after the sixth meeting of their strategic dialogue. Neither side was willing to talk about the differences that have reportedly delayed the statement, but in their opening remarks on Monday, leaders of the US and Pakistani delegations highlighted some pressing issues, Dawn online reported on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State John Kerry emphasised the need for Pakistan to reduce its nuclear arsel, urging it to “process that reality (of reduction) and put that front and centre in its policy”.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz asked the US to show a “greater understanding of Pakistan’s security concerns and its desire to contribute actively as a mainstream nuclear power”.

The two statements clearly underline major differences between their positions on the nuclear issue. Pakistan insists that its nuclear programme is designed only to deal with a possible threat from India and that it will not accept any unilateral reduction in nuclear weapons.

Secretary Kerry, however, did not mention India while calling for a drastic reduction in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

Aziz not only urged the US to understand Pakistan’s threat perceptions but also conveyed its desire to be treated as a mainstream nuclear power, which is so far ucceptable to Washington.

Kerry, while praising Pakistan’s commitment to act against all terror groups, also med groups such as the Haqqani Network and Lashkar-e-Taiba that the US would like Pakistan to target.

Aziz regretted the “tendency to blame Pakistan in a simplistic fashion” for everything that goes wrong in Afghanistan. He also rejected the claim that Islamabad was “pursuing a duplicitous policy”.  (IANS)